Nine things to know about the 1999 national champion UConn men before the team is honored Sunday

The world it shocked has changed a lot over the past two decades, but the 1999 UConn men’s basketball team continues to cling to a special place in the state’s heart after capturing that elusive first national championship for coach Jim Calhoun. Many of the players and coaches who helped create that indelible memory will be in attendance Sunday in Hartford when the 20th anniversary of their achievement is commemorated during UConn’s game against Cincinnati. Here are nine things to know about the ’99 champs:

1. Rip’s return was the first big hurdle

The return of All-American swingman Richard “Rip” Hamilton for his junior season was far from a sure thing. In fact, Hamilton essentially bid farewell to UConn’s assistant coaches before sitting down for a heart-to-heart with Calhoun, who convinced him that another deep NCAA Tournament run would go a long way in solidifying his potential as an NBA lottery pick — and he was right. Hamilton scored 27 points in the national championship game against Duke to earn Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, and was later selected seventh overall by the Washington Wizards in the NBA draft.

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UConn sophomore forward/guard Richard Hamilton announced in the spring of 1998 that he would not enter the NBA draft. (Michael McAndrews / The Hartford Courant)

2. The Huskies strengthened their team chemistry with a summer trip overseas

Taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows teams to take a foreign tour once every four years, the Huskies took a two-week trip — first to London for four days, then to Israel, home of former UConn players Nadav Henefeld and Doron Sheffer, for 10 more. Six games against pro teams representing Germany, France, Greece and Israel provided quality competition. And there was plenty of sightseeing. But the first stop in London, at 9 a.m., was to those historic Golden Arches of McDonald’s.

From left to right, UConn players Albert Mouring, Khalid El-Amin and Jake Voskuhl ride camels in Israel during the Huskies' foreign tour in the summer of 1998.

3. Injuries may have cost the Huskies a shot at a perfect season

UConn’s 77-74 victory over Duke in the national title game is remembered as a monumental upset (more on that later), but the Huskies were cruising along at 19-0 before injuries to Hamilton and junior center Jake Voskuhl put the two starters on the shelf for a stretch in February. The Huskies, who had been ranked No. 1 for 10 weeks, lost to Syracuse, and 19 days later fell to Miami at the buzzer, reinforcing the notion that Duke (37-1 entering the title game) was a champion-in-waiting that season. The Huskies, of course, would not lose again, finishing the season 34-2.

UConn's Jake Voskuhl, left, and Richard Hamilton sit on the bench in street clothes before the start of the UConn-Syracuse Big East Conference game in Hartford on Feb. 1, 1999. Both had to sit on the bench and watch their team lose to Syracuse in an upset, 59-42. (AP Photo/Bob Child) (BOB CHILD/AP)

4. Ricky Moore and Rashamel Jones were the senior co-captains, but sophomore point guard Khalid El-Amin was the Huskies’ heart and soul

Ricky Moore was an ace defensive stopper, and Rashamel Jones was a versatile reserve who never complained when he had to cede playing time to El-Amin upon the 5-foot-10 point guard’s arrival from Minneapolis in 1997. Moore and Jones provided leadership in their own, unassuming way, but El-Amin’s personality was an infectious blend of brashness and mischief. In one of the season’s signature moments, El-Amin silenced a hostile crowd at Pittsburgh with a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Huskies to a 70-69 win after they had trailed by four with 18 seconds left. He celebrated by jumping onto the scorer’s table and gesturing at the Pittsburgh fans who had been taunting him about his weight, among other jeers.

5. The Huskies won nine games in which they trailed at halftime

Forging a trademark toughness, mostly honed against Big East rivals like St. John’s and Miami, the Huskies were victorious in nine games in which they trailed at halftime. Contrast that with Duke’s path, which was littered with blowouts, and it was easy to see why there was no panic on the Huskies’ sideline as a classic championship game ticked down to a tense finish.

6. Calhoun missed the Huskies’ first-round game in the NCAA Tournament

With Calhoun watching alongside his wife, Pat, from a hotel room as he recovered from a stomach illness, assistant coach Dave Leitao guided the Huskies, seeded No. 1 in the West Regional, to a 91-66 win over Texas-San Antonio in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Calhoun returned for the Round of 32, and the Huskies were off and running toward the program’s first berth in the Final Four.

Assistant coach Dave Leitao, right, pictured here with Jim Calhoun and Khalid El-Amin, had to stand in for Calhoun during the Huskies' first-round matchup with Texas-San Antonio after Calhoun came down with an illness before the game. (BRAD CLIFT/HC)

7. Duke was a 9.5-point favorite in the championship game

Boasting four of the first 14 players selected in the 1999 NBA draft — including No. 1 overall pick and Naismith player of the year Elton Brand — the Blue Devils were installed as a 9.5-point favorite, which sent the Calhoun motivational machine into overdrive. Swallowing up negative press “like M&Ms,” as he wrote in his book, the Huskies’ coach was a master at turning doubt into determination, and that was no less true in St. Petersburg, Fla., during the weekend of the Final Four.

8. Moore was the unlikely offensive star in the title game

Moore bottled up Ohio State’s Scoonie Penn in the Final Four and had a similar assignment in the title game opposite Duke’s William Avery, his former high school teammate in Augusta, Ga., as well as sharpshooter Trajan Langdon. And, yes, his stifling defense — the product of superb footwork and positioning — was instrumental during the game’s pressure-packed final possessions. But Moore, who was always capable of scoring in spurts, kept the Huskies competitive early, scoring all 13 of his points in the first half on an array of medium to long-range jump shots. Notably, Moore, who served as an assistant coach under Kevin Ollie at UConn, will not attend Sunday’s ceremony.

9. It seemed like the state collectively skipped work on Tuesday, March 30, 1999

Throngs of UConn fans gave the Huskies a heroes’ welcome when they returned to Connecticut one day after their triumph in the NCAA championship game. The reception started at Bradley International Airport, where fans awaited the arrival of the Huskies’ chartered flight. Then the bus route back to Storrs was lined with sign-waving fans parked along the highways and on bridges overhead. Finally, the party officially started at a packed Gampel Pavilion, where Calhoun famously reminded the crowd that they had helped mend the Huskies’ broken hearts when Duke kept them out of the 1990 Final Four. “Well, yesterday,” Calhoun said, “we kicked some ass and broke some hearts.”

UConn men's basketball fans line the roadside near Exit 66 of I-84, greeting the team bus with cheers and banners as it made its way to Gampel Pavilion on Tuesday, March 30, 1999. (JAY L. CLENDENIN/HC)